Man shoots and kills large rabid possum(CA)

Humbolt Beacon ^

[marktwain]

A caller told police he had shot a large rabid possum in his front yard and was concerned that the possum might attack his dog. He was advised on discharging a firearm in city limits.

[Wings-n-Wind]

PEOPLES REPUBLIK OF KALIFORNIA...
Shoot.... call cops... get "advised"...

Better plan:
Shoot.... Shovel.... Shut-up...

Maybe those southerners do know a thing or two!

Humor only.... no flames please

[MrB]

My 2 yr old and I have a joke about possums...

Me: “What sound does a possum make?”
Her: “Thump thump.... and a deer goes WHAM!”

[2111USMC]

Thanks for the chuckle!

[Utah Binger]

Perhaps it is better to capture it and release it inside City Hall or Police Headquarters?

Just don't use this approach with skunks. Remember to take careful aim with your trusty Ruger 10/22 with scope and get them in the eye before they have a chance to release that fine perfume.

[Recon Dad]

Hell, where I came from if dogs ran in packs they got shot. Coons were hunted and shot.

[DCBryan1]

Nice....you need to add a suppressor to that!!

[Hawthorn]

>> Veterinarians have told me that it just does not happen <<

I was told the same thing by my county animal control office when my dogs murdered a possum in the back yard.

I offered to take them the corpse for rabies testing, but they said, “Don’t bother. Just double-bag the thing in plastic garbage bags and put in the can for your regular Monday trash pick-up.”

[Oatka]

Not much to this story.

It's a two-liner taken from the daily police report, which can provide interesting reading some times.
As in: "8:30 a.m. Animal Control responded to a report of a deceased squirrel on Rohnerville Road. It was transported for proper disposal."
i.e. said squirrel deposited in a bag and dumped in the trash, as per post #27. In the "possum affair", poster #21 had the right approach - S S S.

[goat granny]

Many different species have vastly different normal body temp. Dogs are higher than humans, so are lots of farm animals...We had a bad rabies outbreak in the rural county when I live...Had a horse and a cow get rabies and that was a first for me. I never thought of those animals getting rabies...Any animal can get it...

[vetvetdoug]

Opossums have a body temperature of 97 degrees which is only a degree lower than we humans. My first thought was that opossums are warm blooded therefore they can transmit or carry rabies (which is correct). Rabies in opossums is rare and they may have some natural immunity because they are carrion feeders or prey upon the moribund, just like the vultures immunity against botulism. Now, opossums are really nasty and vile creatures and their bite would be like that of a Komodo dragon, full of nasty bacteria. Opossums are one of the most heavily parasitized animals that I have ever necropsied. They are typically infected with a heavy burden of intestinal parasites and protozoans. Any opossum bite would cause concern for a result with an a)infection b)tetanus and rabies. Opossums carry a nasty protozoan that if a horse gets infected with it will cause a meningitis that can be debilitating. For that reason alone, opossums are lead magnets on my property. I wouldn't doubt that they carry a disease that hasn't been diagnosed correctly in humans that originates from opossums. It took years to find out that protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses originated from opossums.

[vetvetdoug]

Anyone that has had the experience of raccoons inhabiting the house or barn will do the same as you and I have done. Raccoons are destructive creatures and don’t belong in close proximity with humans and their pets. They will kill small dogs and cats and tear up food intended for animals or us. Raccoons can destroy a corn field in a matter of days. If one has a garden, they can destroy it in one night. If one has a chicken house, they will kill all of the chickens in a house in one night and destroy the eggs. I can live trap them and there are families around here that Bar B Que the young healthy ones.

[Joe 6-pack]

Interesting notes; Thanks Doug. I was just recounting to somebody the other day how my old shep, Timber, dispatched two ‘possums back when we were living in PA.

[Vinnie]

I believe I read somewhere that a possum's body temperature is too low to support the rabies virus. Rabies in a possum is rare.

I think you are correct.

Very unlikely the possum was rabid.

[CholeraJoe]

Thanks. I, too have necropsied possums. I can't believe people eat them. They can carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi which causes Chagas' disease in humans, and is spread by the bite of insects in the Rejuvid family. There was an episode of "House" about Chagas' disease. It took me about 10 minutes to make the diagnosis and it took House the whole show.

I read about EPM. It sounds very nasty.

[mikeus_maximus]

Dude, it was Humbolt, home of Humbolt U and a haven for unwashed liberals. There was even a Joan Baez in Concert poster in the “historic” hotel we stayed in a couple years ago in Acada. It’s what you’d expect of a socialist paradise— lots of vagrants, tatoo parlors, bar after run-down bar, rusted VW micro busses everywhere...

[Mister Da]

Thanks for the solid info.

We have possums in our back yard at night, usually on the fence. It gives the dog something to bark at. They don’t bother me, so I don’t bother them. Curious creature - vile looking!

I read they don’t live long - 4-5 years max. The article mentioned the possum was large. Perhaps it was old & dying.

[sockmonkey]

Rabies in a possum is rare.

Agreed. Sometimes in hot dry weather Possums, especially if they are nursing a litter will venture out in the day looking for food or water. On the other hand, while rarely being rabid, Possums are a vector for Chagas Disease. yuck.

[NorthWoody]

We had a litter of baby possums born under the deck between our house and garage this spring.

I heard noises in the garage for a few days but attributed it to mice or the wind until I almost stepped on a baby possum one night when it came out from between a couple boxes under the workbench.

Over the next five days I removed 10 of them from the garage (some may have been repeats, as there was a small hole in the garage wall they were using to enter and exit) by either live-trapping, shooing them out the door, or just picking them up by the tail and carrying them outside.

The problem went away after I patched up the hole in the wall, and I haven’t seen one in a couple weeks now.